Tortoise Time: DCC Control

[Ed Kapuscinski]

It's going to be time to install Tortoises on Windsor St soon, and I'm starting to investigate the best options for controlling them.

What do you guys do?

What works well?

What should I avoid?

Why should I get a Hare or something like that over just getting some Smails?
http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Circuitron-Smail-6-p/cir-800-6206.htm

[railnerd]

I have had good luck the the NCE Switch-It and Switch-It Mk2.

[fcwilt]

I use products from these folks:

http://www.rr-cirkits.com/

The Simple Serial Bus line includes the MotorMan which will drive 8 Tortoise units.

The products are well designed, install easily and the support is top notch.

High recommended.

[John]

I have a Team Digital SMD-8 you can have for free ..

http://tonysdcc.com/productcompare/sta_dec_comparison_smd8.htm

[bbussey]

I use T-Pro mini-servos and Tam Valley singlet controllers.

[bdennis]

I use a variety of DCC driver boards.
My system is Digitrax so I use both Digitrax, RRCirkits, Team Digital. All great...

I guess the first question is.. Whats your aim?
Do you plan of a complete CTC / ABS signalling system?
Or just being able to throw from a throttle of some kind.?

[VonRyan]

I HIGHLY recommend DCC Concepts line of stationary decoders. They are the easiest decoders to program, and they have their own outputs for led-lights for route indication, and they have a pair of terminals to which can be connected a simple momentary pushbutton which means that those folks who don't have fancy throttles can still throw turnouts.

[jagged ben]

I use products from these folks:

http://www.rr-cirkits.com/

The Simple Serial Bus line includes the MotorMan which will drive 8 Tortoise units.

The products are well designed, install easily and the support is top notch.

High recommended.

I believe this is going to be best deal.  It is the cheapest per output and will do the pushbutton thing if you want that.

Lenz LS150 used to be the best deal if you had the right supplier, but not anymore.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I have a Team Digital SMD-8 you can have for free ..

http://tonysdcc.com/productcompare/sta_dec_comparison_smd8.htm

I think I have my winner!

Thanks John!

[mmyers]

 I use any decoder that allows for auxiliary buttons on my modules. Why? because nobody including me ever uses their throttle to throw my switches. Go with the free board from John. Worth every penny.

Martin

[ryan_wilkerson]

Another vote for the NCE Switch-It Mk2. The Mk2 has worked well for me on my FreeMo-N modules. I program them with the control point's milepost (like MP 334) so I can throw it using the throttle. It also can be easily hooked up to a momentary pushbutton to toggle back and forth (great for mounting on both sides of the module). It's under $25 at MBK and can control 2 turnouts. Actually, I have a crossover with two Tortoise machines setup on one channel and another turnout on the other. To really push it, just last week I wired up 4 tortoise machines to be thrown with a single push of a button or via milepost 180 via throttle. Very flexible units and easy to understand and setup.

[Cajonpassfan]

A couple of hopefully useful thoughts:
I swear by Switch-it's and Switch-8's, and have them as a standard on my DCC layout. Very happy with them. They also work with the Macro feature on my NCE system to control up to ten turnouts with one command; very useful for approaches to large yards and staging.

BUT, there are areas with complicated trackage where a simple toggle or push button is quicker and simpler to use and where DCC turnout control isn't really necessary. I've used standard toggles to drive stall motors (Tortoises) in these situations and now I'm experimenting with a very nifty new product called "Touch Toggles" from Berrett Hill. The touch toggle is very compact and comes with an embedded bi-color LED. A light touch triggers the toggle and change of color. If I were to start over again, I would definitely give these a serious look.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
Otto K.
(No relation to Berrett, other then sending them a bunch of money )

[Cajonpassfan]

Im still experimenting with panel designs etc., but here's what a "touch toggle" mockup looks like:
Otto

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Those touch toggles are cool. I've seen him at the Timonium show, starting back when it was just an idea and he wanted to gauge interest. Seems like a neat thing.

Personally, my plan is to DCC the switches that would be dispatcher controlled (the crossovers and where the track joins back into the layout), and local control of the others will be manual via slide switches. I like the idea of the push buttons as backup though, especially for casual ops.

If I were going more elaborate, I'd definitely use the touch toggles though.